title: [Occurrence and fate of phthalates in wastewater treatment plants in Beijing, China].
abstract: Three waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) in Beijing were selected as cases to study the occurrence and fate of phthalates. Contents of di-methyl phthalate (DMP), di-ethyl phthalate (DEP), di-butyl phthalate (DBP), butyl-benzyl phthalate (BBP), di-octyl phthalate (DOP) and di-(2-ehtylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in influent, effluent of secondary setting tank and excess sludge in those WWTPs were determined. The mean concentration of DMP, DEP, DBP and DEHP are 0.98, 0.21 x 10(2), 0.27 x 10(2) and 0.15 x 10(2) microg x L(-1) respectively. BBP and DOP were not found in those WWTPs. Only DBP and DEHP were detected in dewatered sludge with mean concentration of 0.37 microg x kg(-1) and 0.31 x 10(3) microg x kg(-1) DW. The removal efficiency of DMP, DEP, DBP and DEHP varied from 68.3% -82.6%, 94.5% - 98.2%, 74.7% -95.0% and 90.5% -90.7% respectively. The main removal mechanism should be biodegradation and volatilization to the air. Higher concentration of DBP and DEHP in effluent and dewatered sludge should be concerned.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China. yqzhou@rcees.ac.cn
authors.forename: Yi-Qi
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yun-Xia
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D003993:Dibutyl Phthalate / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D003993:Dibutyl Phthalate; D010795:Phthalic Acids; D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater; C053316:di-(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate; C032279:phthalic acid